DAILY BYTE
“You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep”! We hear the apostle Paul give us a wake up call this week!
It was a call that I needed, as I was writing this... Alone in my office with the door closed, I found myself reading and typing and becoming more and more and more sleepy...
Although I was completely excited about the material, I was drained by the isolation. Only when I received a phone call and got a jolt did I realize how sluggish I had become.
When we’re alone, often we become weary, we feel disconnected, we become less productive and more dissatisfied. And during nights alone in our flats or houses, I can’t be the only one who has a little feeling of uneasiness, knowing that if something bad were to happen, I’m not sure if anyone would come running to help. This uneasiness – dis-ease – you might even say – can fester in us, as we grow tired of being alone.
But looking at the scripture this week in staff meeting, Susan, the mother of a spunky teenager, pointed out that it is very difficult to stay awake when you’re alone. But slumber parties on the other hand, are often the last place you will find slumber.
Surely you can recall a slumber party from your youth where you stayed up until all hours of the morning, watching movies, painting nails, and playing hide and go seek in the dark. Somehow when others are partying with us, we forget about being tired, and the isolation and darkness fades into invigoration and bubbly excitement.
If you have spent too long in isolation, too long separated from community, whether family, the church, or the city – it’s time for us to wake up and join the party! In this first week of Advent, the season of the year where we prepare for the birth of Christ, the Prince of Peace, we’ll be looking particularly at joining the community around us to live out our calling to be a people of peace.
FOCUS READING
Romans 13: 11-12 (NRSV)
Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light...
Monday 29 November 2010
Friday 26 November 2010
The Great Risk - Part 5
DAILY BYTE
If you’ve been hearing the challenge of the gospel this week to risk yourself a little more for life’s sake and love’s sake, then I’d urge you to act. Now is the time for you to do something about that nagging sense of conviction you’ve been feeling inside – to invite someone to church, or get involved in a new area of service, or offer greater hospitality, or change your job, or open your wallet in greater generosity, or open our mouth more boldly in speaking out against injustice, or daring to love more lavishly. Whatever God is calling you to, I urge you to go for it. And you will discover God’s abundance flowing to you and through you in the most remarkable & joyous way.
As we bring this week’s devotions to a close, I’d like to share a personal story.
Earlier this year I was invited by the music teacher at my daughter’s school to be a part of a string ensemble that was to play at a special Easter concert. I was to play second violin. I knew the deal – music that was beyond my limited technical ability; just one practice immediately before the concert; and other musicians of superior ability. It just so happened that on this particular occasion the first violinist right next to me was none other than the associate concert master of the KZN Philharmonic. The double bass two seats to my right is also a member of the KZN Philharmonic. The chap on the cello next to me used to play for the KZN Youth Orchestra. And then there was me, just to round off the ensemble.
(Can you see where this is going?)
Well, it was an Easter concert, and thankfully this is an Easter story of good news. Because believe it or not, I didn’t screw up. I played. I participated. Of course, I missed many of the notes, and many that I played were wrong. But that’s not the point. The point is that I played, and the music sounded really really good. Which had nothing to do with the merits of my playing, but everything to do with the fact that a diverse group of people were risking themselves in making music together. And as I did so it was for me an experience of great joy.
Now I’m fully aware that if another member of the KZN Philharmonic had been playing second violin the music would have been even better. But dare I say it, what we had that day was certainly more…interesting.
Maybe that’s why the master entrusts his bounty to all, including the little ones, and asks us to risk putting it all into play.
And what if you risk and lose? Well, imagine another ending to the parable, as suggested by Paul Duke.
He writes, “Suppose the third servant did not hide his gift. Let’s say he took that million bucks and built a shelter for the homeless. He fed the poor, gave job training, gave literacy training, told them of God’s love. Some flourished, but others were not grateful, did not get better. And one night a gang of them stole everything and burned the place to the ground.
And the master came back. And the third servant having heard the fine reports of his friends, had to step forward and say, “I have nothing. I lost everything you gave me. And the master said, ‘Well done, I’ll give you more, come into my joy.”
Of course in the parable Jesus told, the ones who took the risk didn’t lose at all. That’s the amazing thing about God’s fortune in our hands – to give it, is never in the end to lose it.
Have you known anybody in your life who risked something for love’s sake or for Christ’s sake, and were sorry that they did?
The time for playing it safe is past. Take the great risk that God entrusts to you. It is truly a gift of great love.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you, gracious God, for entrusting me with a part to play in your great ensemble. Thank you that under your hand, the contribution of my life can add to the music of love that can fill this world with healing and transforming grace. Help me to let go of my insecurities, uncertainties, inadequacies and fears and trust that your power really is made perfect in weakness. Amen.
If you’ve been hearing the challenge of the gospel this week to risk yourself a little more for life’s sake and love’s sake, then I’d urge you to act. Now is the time for you to do something about that nagging sense of conviction you’ve been feeling inside – to invite someone to church, or get involved in a new area of service, or offer greater hospitality, or change your job, or open your wallet in greater generosity, or open our mouth more boldly in speaking out against injustice, or daring to love more lavishly. Whatever God is calling you to, I urge you to go for it. And you will discover God’s abundance flowing to you and through you in the most remarkable & joyous way.
As we bring this week’s devotions to a close, I’d like to share a personal story.
Earlier this year I was invited by the music teacher at my daughter’s school to be a part of a string ensemble that was to play at a special Easter concert. I was to play second violin. I knew the deal – music that was beyond my limited technical ability; just one practice immediately before the concert; and other musicians of superior ability. It just so happened that on this particular occasion the first violinist right next to me was none other than the associate concert master of the KZN Philharmonic. The double bass two seats to my right is also a member of the KZN Philharmonic. The chap on the cello next to me used to play for the KZN Youth Orchestra. And then there was me, just to round off the ensemble.
(Can you see where this is going?)
Well, it was an Easter concert, and thankfully this is an Easter story of good news. Because believe it or not, I didn’t screw up. I played. I participated. Of course, I missed many of the notes, and many that I played were wrong. But that’s not the point. The point is that I played, and the music sounded really really good. Which had nothing to do with the merits of my playing, but everything to do with the fact that a diverse group of people were risking themselves in making music together. And as I did so it was for me an experience of great joy.
Now I’m fully aware that if another member of the KZN Philharmonic had been playing second violin the music would have been even better. But dare I say it, what we had that day was certainly more…interesting.
Maybe that’s why the master entrusts his bounty to all, including the little ones, and asks us to risk putting it all into play.
And what if you risk and lose? Well, imagine another ending to the parable, as suggested by Paul Duke.
He writes, “Suppose the third servant did not hide his gift. Let’s say he took that million bucks and built a shelter for the homeless. He fed the poor, gave job training, gave literacy training, told them of God’s love. Some flourished, but others were not grateful, did not get better. And one night a gang of them stole everything and burned the place to the ground.
And the master came back. And the third servant having heard the fine reports of his friends, had to step forward and say, “I have nothing. I lost everything you gave me. And the master said, ‘Well done, I’ll give you more, come into my joy.”
Of course in the parable Jesus told, the ones who took the risk didn’t lose at all. That’s the amazing thing about God’s fortune in our hands – to give it, is never in the end to lose it.
Have you known anybody in your life who risked something for love’s sake or for Christ’s sake, and were sorry that they did?
The time for playing it safe is past. Take the great risk that God entrusts to you. It is truly a gift of great love.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you, gracious God, for entrusting me with a part to play in your great ensemble. Thank you that under your hand, the contribution of my life can add to the music of love that can fill this world with healing and transforming grace. Help me to let go of my insecurities, uncertainties, inadequacies and fears and trust that your power really is made perfect in weakness. Amen.
Thursday 25 November 2010
The Great Risk - Part 4
DAILY BYTE
Yesterday we wandered through the first part of the parable of the talents. Today, we pick up the story when the master finally returned, and summoned his slaves to give account. The first one reported an impressive return. Seems like the markets bounced back after all. Similarly the second had good news. The developer had made good on his promises, and the new airport had been a great help in pushing up property values in the area.
Hearing what they had done, the master said to each of these, “Well done, good and faithful slave. I trusted you and you have been trustworthy. I will continue to entrust my things to you. Come and share my joy.”
Now it’s the little guy’s turn. First thing he does is start attacking the master, “You’re a harsh man. You reap where you did not sow, and gather where you did not scatter seed.” What? Nothing in the story thus far supports this outrageous accusation. And nothing could be further from the truth. All the master does in the story is give and trust in the most prodigal way, and sow and scatter with reckless generosity, and invite others to share his joy.
And suddenly we understand why the third slave has been so afraid – because he’s got the master all wrong. He thinks the master is out to get him. And so he cannot trust the master’s trust in him.
He was invited to participate in the richly abundant life of the master, to risk himself in a whole new way, but he refused. And in his refusal he brings judgement on himself, and is thrown into outer darkness.
If that sounds harsh to you, and it does to me, maybe it’s because Jesus didn’t want to sugarcoat the difficult truth that ordinary people, like us, need to hear.
Yes, this parable speaks a challenging and uncomfortable truth. Whether we like it or not, God hands us an invitation that is both exciting and scary at the same time. It’s an invitation to take hold of this great gift of life, and to risk playing it, investing it, living it, in the audacious belief that it can become even more.
We did not choose this, but we can choose our response. We can refuse the invitation. We can refuse to participate. We can bury our hearts. Our dreams. Our passion to see this world renewed. We can bury our sense of being called.
Or, we can say OK. Let me risk it.
That’s what Abram said in response to God’s risky call for him to leave the comfort and security of the life he had always known. And that’s how the story of the people of God began. With a great risk. And in every age there have been others, ordinary people of faith, who in similar ways have risked themselves in the hands of God, and have found life in the process.
In the living of your life today, will you dare to join their ranks, as you abandon yourself into the hands of God and risk living your ordinary life in quite extraordinary ways?
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord God, remind me who you are. Remind me what you are like. Remind me that you are a God of generosity, mercy, compassion and grace. Remind me that you long to bless me that I might be a blessing to others. Remind me of these things, because when I remember rightly who you really are, it is then that I can more freely embrace and trust the person that you declare me to be – a beloved child of yours. Amen
SCRIPTURE READING
Genesis 12:1-4
Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed.
Yesterday we wandered through the first part of the parable of the talents. Today, we pick up the story when the master finally returned, and summoned his slaves to give account. The first one reported an impressive return. Seems like the markets bounced back after all. Similarly the second had good news. The developer had made good on his promises, and the new airport had been a great help in pushing up property values in the area.
Hearing what they had done, the master said to each of these, “Well done, good and faithful slave. I trusted you and you have been trustworthy. I will continue to entrust my things to you. Come and share my joy.”
Now it’s the little guy’s turn. First thing he does is start attacking the master, “You’re a harsh man. You reap where you did not sow, and gather where you did not scatter seed.” What? Nothing in the story thus far supports this outrageous accusation. And nothing could be further from the truth. All the master does in the story is give and trust in the most prodigal way, and sow and scatter with reckless generosity, and invite others to share his joy.
And suddenly we understand why the third slave has been so afraid – because he’s got the master all wrong. He thinks the master is out to get him. And so he cannot trust the master’s trust in him.
He was invited to participate in the richly abundant life of the master, to risk himself in a whole new way, but he refused. And in his refusal he brings judgement on himself, and is thrown into outer darkness.
If that sounds harsh to you, and it does to me, maybe it’s because Jesus didn’t want to sugarcoat the difficult truth that ordinary people, like us, need to hear.
Yes, this parable speaks a challenging and uncomfortable truth. Whether we like it or not, God hands us an invitation that is both exciting and scary at the same time. It’s an invitation to take hold of this great gift of life, and to risk playing it, investing it, living it, in the audacious belief that it can become even more.
We did not choose this, but we can choose our response. We can refuse the invitation. We can refuse to participate. We can bury our hearts. Our dreams. Our passion to see this world renewed. We can bury our sense of being called.
Or, we can say OK. Let me risk it.
That’s what Abram said in response to God’s risky call for him to leave the comfort and security of the life he had always known. And that’s how the story of the people of God began. With a great risk. And in every age there have been others, ordinary people of faith, who in similar ways have risked themselves in the hands of God, and have found life in the process.
In the living of your life today, will you dare to join their ranks, as you abandon yourself into the hands of God and risk living your ordinary life in quite extraordinary ways?
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord God, remind me who you are. Remind me what you are like. Remind me that you are a God of generosity, mercy, compassion and grace. Remind me that you long to bless me that I might be a blessing to others. Remind me of these things, because when I remember rightly who you really are, it is then that I can more freely embrace and trust the person that you declare me to be – a beloved child of yours. Amen
SCRIPTURE READING
Genesis 12:1-4
Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed.
Wednesday 24 November 2010
The Great Risk - Part 3
DAILY BYTE
Over these next few days we’ll be looking at the difficult truth contained in the parable of the talents, particularly for the ‘little ones’ in this life who prefer to play it safe. Today, let’s walk through the first part of this challenging parable.
A man was heading out of town, and so summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them. He knew they had different abilities, and so apportioned his property accordingly. To one he gave five talents, to another he gave two, and to the third slave, the little one amongst them, he gave one. Notice he didn’t give all eight talents to the one with the most ability. All the slaves, from the greatest to the least, were entrusted with the master’s property. And then he leaves, for a long time.
To get this parable, it’s essential to grasp that a talent was a unit of money that was big big bucks. We’re talking lotto jackpot here. In Jesus’ day, one talent was the equivalent of 15 years’ wages. So for us to hear this story as the original hearers did, we could say that a talent was roughly a million rand, and we’d be more or less in the right ballpark.
So there we find these three slaves. One is holding in his shaking hand a cheque, with his name on it, for a million rand. Eish! The other is blinking his eyes as he stares at his cheque for two million. The third has one for five million rand. He’s the first to make a move. “I think I’ll take this off-shore, “ he says, “and play the stock market.” The little guy looks at him with disbelief, “Are you out of your mind?” he says. “Haven’t you seen what’s happened this year to the Dow, the FTSE & the Dax?” But the first slave isn’t listening because he’s already got a broker on the line.
The second slave then says, “Hmmm. Two million…. I know. Property development. KZN North Coast.” And again the little guy grabs his hair and says, “Don’t be crazy. The Reserve Bank Governor recently declared a recession. And what if the master returns and his money is all tied up? Or the developer goes bust? Or…” But the second slave has already gone.
So there the little guy stands, cheque for a million rand in his hand, terrified.
The master had given no instructions as to what he should do with the money.
The decision is all his.
Don’t you feel at least a little bit sorry for him? I reckon he felt pretty sorry for himself. I reckon he felt sorry that he had such a master, who would take such a great risk as to entrust him, no… burden him with so much.
And so he wraps it up. And goes outside. And digs a hole. And buries it.
Which is not just to say that he did nothing with the money, but that it had to be hidden away. Maybe because he could not bear to look at the audacious invitation for him to risk himself in a wild and prodigal way.
I think that this little guy in the story represents all of us, at some time or another in all of our lives. For who of us can say that there haven’t been times when we’ve turned away from life’s audacious invitation to risk ourselves in wild and prodigal ways?
Maybe right now you’re aware of something that you’ve buried, for fear. Maybe it’s your heart. Maybe you loved someone, and it didn’t work out, and it hurt so bad that you made a promise to yourself that you’ll never allow yourself to get hurt like that again. And so, rather than risking yourself in vulnerability and love, you’ve buried your heart.
Maybe you’ve buried a lifelong dream. Maybe you’ve convinced yourself that it could never happen for you anyway and that you’re crazy for even thinking it might. And so, rather than risking yourself in a great, soul-stirring venture, you’ve settled for mediocrity, as you’ve buried even the possibility of trying.
Can you feel the deep sense of disappointment, and waste, and regret that this kind of response ultimately generates. Is that what you want for your life?
SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 25:18
But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
Over these next few days we’ll be looking at the difficult truth contained in the parable of the talents, particularly for the ‘little ones’ in this life who prefer to play it safe. Today, let’s walk through the first part of this challenging parable.
A man was heading out of town, and so summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them. He knew they had different abilities, and so apportioned his property accordingly. To one he gave five talents, to another he gave two, and to the third slave, the little one amongst them, he gave one. Notice he didn’t give all eight talents to the one with the most ability. All the slaves, from the greatest to the least, were entrusted with the master’s property. And then he leaves, for a long time.
To get this parable, it’s essential to grasp that a talent was a unit of money that was big big bucks. We’re talking lotto jackpot here. In Jesus’ day, one talent was the equivalent of 15 years’ wages. So for us to hear this story as the original hearers did, we could say that a talent was roughly a million rand, and we’d be more or less in the right ballpark.
So there we find these three slaves. One is holding in his shaking hand a cheque, with his name on it, for a million rand. Eish! The other is blinking his eyes as he stares at his cheque for two million. The third has one for five million rand. He’s the first to make a move. “I think I’ll take this off-shore, “ he says, “and play the stock market.” The little guy looks at him with disbelief, “Are you out of your mind?” he says. “Haven’t you seen what’s happened this year to the Dow, the FTSE & the Dax?” But the first slave isn’t listening because he’s already got a broker on the line.
The second slave then says, “Hmmm. Two million…. I know. Property development. KZN North Coast.” And again the little guy grabs his hair and says, “Don’t be crazy. The Reserve Bank Governor recently declared a recession. And what if the master returns and his money is all tied up? Or the developer goes bust? Or…” But the second slave has already gone.
So there the little guy stands, cheque for a million rand in his hand, terrified.
The master had given no instructions as to what he should do with the money.
The decision is all his.
Don’t you feel at least a little bit sorry for him? I reckon he felt pretty sorry for himself. I reckon he felt sorry that he had such a master, who would take such a great risk as to entrust him, no… burden him with so much.
And so he wraps it up. And goes outside. And digs a hole. And buries it.
Which is not just to say that he did nothing with the money, but that it had to be hidden away. Maybe because he could not bear to look at the audacious invitation for him to risk himself in a wild and prodigal way.
I think that this little guy in the story represents all of us, at some time or another in all of our lives. For who of us can say that there haven’t been times when we’ve turned away from life’s audacious invitation to risk ourselves in wild and prodigal ways?
Maybe right now you’re aware of something that you’ve buried, for fear. Maybe it’s your heart. Maybe you loved someone, and it didn’t work out, and it hurt so bad that you made a promise to yourself that you’ll never allow yourself to get hurt like that again. And so, rather than risking yourself in vulnerability and love, you’ve buried your heart.
Maybe you’ve buried a lifelong dream. Maybe you’ve convinced yourself that it could never happen for you anyway and that you’re crazy for even thinking it might. And so, rather than risking yourself in a great, soul-stirring venture, you’ve settled for mediocrity, as you’ve buried even the possibility of trying.
Can you feel the deep sense of disappointment, and waste, and regret that this kind of response ultimately generates. Is that what you want for your life?
SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 25:18
But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
The Great Risk - Part 2
DAILY BYTE
Yesterday I shared the fictional story of the great risk that a golf pro by the name of Roy McAvoy once took in the US Open, as depicted in the movie Tin Cup. But there are real-life stories of risky heroism that could be shared as well.
Recently, I read the story of Ellen MacArthur, a young British sailor who a few years back broke the world record for the fastest non-stop solo circumnavigation of the world. It was the most unbelievable story of courage and endurance as she risked herself in this heroic quest. Over and over again, in seemingly impossible situations on the high seas, she chose to go for it, and in the end the record was hers.
The only trouble with fictional stories like Roy McAvoy’s, or real-life ones like that of Ellen MacArthur, is that these courageous risk-takers seem so far-removed from ordinary people like us. Let’s face it; our lives are lived on a much smaller stage. And many people are content with that. They’re aware of their limitations and shortcomings, and accept that in the great scheme of things, they are one of the little ones, whose lives will pass by largely unnoticed. And who think that great risks are not really for them.
If you’re one of those people who prefers being anonymous as you get on with your life in a largely unnoticed way, then I’d remind you that no-one, in fact, is anonymous to God, and no-one goes unnoticed by Him. In fact, there is no-one who does not have a very particular part to play in God’s great plan to mend the entire universe. Which means that everyone faces the great risk of colliding with a call from God upon their lives, sooner or later.
Jesus noticed the little ones. He took great interest in their lives and wellbeing. The fullness of life that he came to bring was not just for superstars, but for ordinary people, for whom he had a particular love and concern. So much so that he was unafraid to speak hard truth into the lives of ordinary people.
Over the rest of this week we’ll take a closer look at a story that contained such difficult truth. It’s known as the parable of the talents. In preparation to hear its challenge, maybe you’d like to read it now and begin to reflect upon what it might be saying to your life. It’s found in Matthew 25:14-30.
PRAY-AS-YOU-GO
Forgive me Lord for the times when I hide behind my own sense of inadequacy, assuming that my limitations are limitations for you. Remind me that you are the Sovereign Lord of all the earth, and that when you call ordinary people like me into your service that you know what you are doing. Help me to trust that even my little life can be lived out on the great canvass of your purposes for the world, not because of any merit of my own, but because of the immensity of your grace. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 8:3-9
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Yesterday I shared the fictional story of the great risk that a golf pro by the name of Roy McAvoy once took in the US Open, as depicted in the movie Tin Cup. But there are real-life stories of risky heroism that could be shared as well.
Recently, I read the story of Ellen MacArthur, a young British sailor who a few years back broke the world record for the fastest non-stop solo circumnavigation of the world. It was the most unbelievable story of courage and endurance as she risked herself in this heroic quest. Over and over again, in seemingly impossible situations on the high seas, she chose to go for it, and in the end the record was hers.
The only trouble with fictional stories like Roy McAvoy’s, or real-life ones like that of Ellen MacArthur, is that these courageous risk-takers seem so far-removed from ordinary people like us. Let’s face it; our lives are lived on a much smaller stage. And many people are content with that. They’re aware of their limitations and shortcomings, and accept that in the great scheme of things, they are one of the little ones, whose lives will pass by largely unnoticed. And who think that great risks are not really for them.
If you’re one of those people who prefers being anonymous as you get on with your life in a largely unnoticed way, then I’d remind you that no-one, in fact, is anonymous to God, and no-one goes unnoticed by Him. In fact, there is no-one who does not have a very particular part to play in God’s great plan to mend the entire universe. Which means that everyone faces the great risk of colliding with a call from God upon their lives, sooner or later.
Jesus noticed the little ones. He took great interest in their lives and wellbeing. The fullness of life that he came to bring was not just for superstars, but for ordinary people, for whom he had a particular love and concern. So much so that he was unafraid to speak hard truth into the lives of ordinary people.
Over the rest of this week we’ll take a closer look at a story that contained such difficult truth. It’s known as the parable of the talents. In preparation to hear its challenge, maybe you’d like to read it now and begin to reflect upon what it might be saying to your life. It’s found in Matthew 25:14-30.
PRAY-AS-YOU-GO
Forgive me Lord for the times when I hide behind my own sense of inadequacy, assuming that my limitations are limitations for you. Remind me that you are the Sovereign Lord of all the earth, and that when you call ordinary people like me into your service that you know what you are doing. Help me to trust that even my little life can be lived out on the great canvass of your purposes for the world, not because of any merit of my own, but because of the immensity of your grace. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 8:3-9
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Monday 22 November 2010
The Great Risk
DAILY BYTE
Some of you may have seen the movie Tin Cup. It’s about a washed up golf pro by the name of Roy ‘Tin Cup’ McAvoy, played in the movie by Kevin Costner. He lives in a caravan on a dusty armadillo-infested driving range in some backwater town in Texas.
When a beautiful, sophisticated woman by the name of Dr Molly Griswold, played by Rene Russo, signs up for some golf lessons, she thinks that McAvoy is just a dead beat frat boy whose future plans extend only as far as his next beer. And so, to show her that he is, in fact, made of sterner stuff he sets out to qualify for the US Open, which he does.
In true schmaltzy Hollywood style, the movie comes to its climax with McAvoy needing a birdie on the final hole to win the US Open. He’s faced with a tough decision. Should he play it safe by laying up in front of the water hazard on this long par 5? Or should he play a far more risky shot, hitting over the water and going straight for the green? In earlier rounds he had tried the riskier option, and on each occasion had failed. The conventional wisdom was that he should play it safe.
But McAvoy would have none of that. He’s convinced he can pull off this audacious shot, and so he goes for it. And sure enough, hits the ball in the water. Undeterred, he takes out another ball, and tries the shot again, and again hits it in the water. So he takes out another ball, and another, and another, and another. Each time, hitting it into the water. Until he has only one ball left in his bag, and in even schmaltzier Hollywood style, he hits that last ball into the hole.
This movie was hardly a cinemagraphical tour de force, but it made a compelling point. There are times when life presents to us a risky choice, and we must decide: do we go for it, or do we play it safe? How we choose in those defining moments, shapes the kind of people we will be.
As we will be discovering in our devotions this week, God’s intention for us is to take the great risk of giving ourselves completely to this magnificent, miraculous gift that is our Life.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord Jesus Christ, you held nothing back in risking yourself completely in your great adventure of love by coming to share life with us. May we be inspired by your example to give ourselves completely to that higher purpose to which you call each one of us. Help us, today, to live in such a way that demonstrates our desire to trust you completely. Amen.
A FURTHER THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
“A ship in harbour is safe – but that is not what ships are for.” John A. Shedd
Some of you may have seen the movie Tin Cup. It’s about a washed up golf pro by the name of Roy ‘Tin Cup’ McAvoy, played in the movie by Kevin Costner. He lives in a caravan on a dusty armadillo-infested driving range in some backwater town in Texas.
When a beautiful, sophisticated woman by the name of Dr Molly Griswold, played by Rene Russo, signs up for some golf lessons, she thinks that McAvoy is just a dead beat frat boy whose future plans extend only as far as his next beer. And so, to show her that he is, in fact, made of sterner stuff he sets out to qualify for the US Open, which he does.
In true schmaltzy Hollywood style, the movie comes to its climax with McAvoy needing a birdie on the final hole to win the US Open. He’s faced with a tough decision. Should he play it safe by laying up in front of the water hazard on this long par 5? Or should he play a far more risky shot, hitting over the water and going straight for the green? In earlier rounds he had tried the riskier option, and on each occasion had failed. The conventional wisdom was that he should play it safe.
But McAvoy would have none of that. He’s convinced he can pull off this audacious shot, and so he goes for it. And sure enough, hits the ball in the water. Undeterred, he takes out another ball, and tries the shot again, and again hits it in the water. So he takes out another ball, and another, and another, and another. Each time, hitting it into the water. Until he has only one ball left in his bag, and in even schmaltzier Hollywood style, he hits that last ball into the hole.
This movie was hardly a cinemagraphical tour de force, but it made a compelling point. There are times when life presents to us a risky choice, and we must decide: do we go for it, or do we play it safe? How we choose in those defining moments, shapes the kind of people we will be.
As we will be discovering in our devotions this week, God’s intention for us is to take the great risk of giving ourselves completely to this magnificent, miraculous gift that is our Life.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord Jesus Christ, you held nothing back in risking yourself completely in your great adventure of love by coming to share life with us. May we be inspired by your example to give ourselves completely to that higher purpose to which you call each one of us. Help us, today, to live in such a way that demonstrates our desire to trust you completely. Amen.
A FURTHER THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
“A ship in harbour is safe – but that is not what ships are for.” John A. Shedd
Thursday 18 November 2010
Standing up front
DAILY BYTE
Do you think people have to have a certain “level” of faith or experience to be involved with participating in and leading worship?
Certainly, there is an integrity that we need to have when we guide other people in doing this work, but I think that more than certainty in faith or ability in public speaking, I think the most important thing about leading worship is commitment to the work that God wants to do through you.
Are you commited to the fact that God wants to work through you?
Do you realize that the Holy Spirit lives within you and is just craving to get out and be shared through your passions and gifts?
When we do the work of worship, we are a crucial instrument of God, but the work is not about us.
When I’m encouraging people to stand up in front of the congregation in an act of worship, I almost always tell them – remember that this is not about you standing up in front of a group of people with everyone staring at you, waiting for you to mess up...even though that’s what it feels like when you stand up in front of a big group of people.
Leading people in acts of worship is about standing in the strength of God and allowing God to work through you to touch peoples’ lives. The focus in worship is not on you – it is on God.
If you can believe that a preacher used to be terrified of public speaking, then believe it. It is true of me. I didn’t even like raising my hand to answer questions in class, as a child, growing up. I hated that feeling that all eyes were on me, either expecting me to proclaim words of brilliance or expecting me to fail.
I can remember telling a mentor that even if I were one day to preach – how on earth would I know what to say?
And she just smiled and said – if you one day let God use you that way, God will help you know what to say.
The work of worship is about focusing ourselves, our community, and the whole world on the work, the power, the greatness, and love of God. God will teach us how to do this work. God will teach us what to say, and it will matter. Do you want to work together with God? Do you want to let God use you?
PRAY AS YOU GO
Encouraging God, I want you to take me and mould me and use me to bring life to the world. Help me to discern how best I can share my gifts. And then, give me the strength and passion to remain committed to your vision for my life. Amen.
Do you think people have to have a certain “level” of faith or experience to be involved with participating in and leading worship?
Certainly, there is an integrity that we need to have when we guide other people in doing this work, but I think that more than certainty in faith or ability in public speaking, I think the most important thing about leading worship is commitment to the work that God wants to do through you.
Are you commited to the fact that God wants to work through you?
Do you realize that the Holy Spirit lives within you and is just craving to get out and be shared through your passions and gifts?
When we do the work of worship, we are a crucial instrument of God, but the work is not about us.
When I’m encouraging people to stand up in front of the congregation in an act of worship, I almost always tell them – remember that this is not about you standing up in front of a group of people with everyone staring at you, waiting for you to mess up...even though that’s what it feels like when you stand up in front of a big group of people.
Leading people in acts of worship is about standing in the strength of God and allowing God to work through you to touch peoples’ lives. The focus in worship is not on you – it is on God.
If you can believe that a preacher used to be terrified of public speaking, then believe it. It is true of me. I didn’t even like raising my hand to answer questions in class, as a child, growing up. I hated that feeling that all eyes were on me, either expecting me to proclaim words of brilliance or expecting me to fail.
I can remember telling a mentor that even if I were one day to preach – how on earth would I know what to say?
And she just smiled and said – if you one day let God use you that way, God will help you know what to say.
The work of worship is about focusing ourselves, our community, and the whole world on the work, the power, the greatness, and love of God. God will teach us how to do this work. God will teach us what to say, and it will matter. Do you want to work together with God? Do you want to let God use you?
PRAY AS YOU GO
Encouraging God, I want you to take me and mould me and use me to bring life to the world. Help me to discern how best I can share my gifts. And then, give me the strength and passion to remain committed to your vision for my life. Amen.
Working together
DAILY BYTE
We’re talking this week about worship and work. And so we read in 2 Thessalonians today about a group of people who seem to have forgotten to do work that matters.
They’re told in no uncertain terms that they’re being idle – they’re not remembering what the people who went before them taught them about doing what is right. Instead, they’re being busybodies – which means they might be doing a lot of things, but certainly they’re not things that bring life to the world or have any greater meaning behind them. These people are not actually doing the work – leitourgia – the work of the people. Instead of contributing to and serving the community, they seem to be sucking from the community what they need, expecting then to be provided for.
And let’s be honest, it seems this is the way many of us address the work of worship, myself often included.
We live consumerist lives. And when people who lead worship – with bands and choirs and microphones – get up on “stage,” we can be lulled into the idea that we come purely to be served and fed. I remember I used to tease my mom for having a preaching mic that looked very much like Britney Spears’ headset. Watching that, we tend to appreciate the work that others do to prepare, but we can comfortably sit as a member of an audience.
Sometimes we understand what’s going on in the performance – sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we care about what we see and hear. Sometimes we don’t. But it may be time for us to re-evaluate who the audience of our worship is.
There’s no doubt that God serves us, as God performs, in worship. The Presbyterian minister, Marjorie Thompson says in her book, Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life, that in worship “God fills us with the joy of knowing we are loved, restores our courage through forgiveness, provides the Word for hungry hearts, and fills us with the bread and wine of new life in Christ, giving new purpose to our lives.”
In worship the Holy Spirit flows around and within us – doing its work – so that when we come to church idle and feeling a bit empty or dry or in need of greater faith, God responds out of love for us with God’s work in our lives.
But the Christian philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, also talks about it as a “theatre of worship” where the audience is God. And so the truth about worship is that it’s work that is done by us and by God – all together at once.
It requires something of God, and it requires some sacrifice of ours. So that even when we don’t feel like doing the work, even when we’re not sure if we even believe in the work we do, even when we’re just plain weary, like it says in 2 Thessalonians, we are asked through worship to work together with God – through our prayers and music and hearing scripture and contemplating the word proclaimed and greeting one another and celebrating the sacraments together – we need to do this – it matters.
It is not just a way of filling up our own selves, although it does that, but it has real power to stand against things that tear the world down – power against feelings of disappointment and fear, discouragement and hopelessness, violence and abuse, unbelief and bland living. When we stand together with God and do the work of worship, we are working to create a world that brings life and beauty to people instead of death.
How exciting is that?? How passionate can we be about that????
So that even if we’re a bit confused at the moment about our own faith and a bit down in our levels of hope, we can stand together with one another and gain strength from each other to preach the word with our lives. Are you ready to do this work?
FOCUS READING
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 (NRSV)
Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.
We’re talking this week about worship and work. And so we read in 2 Thessalonians today about a group of people who seem to have forgotten to do work that matters.
They’re told in no uncertain terms that they’re being idle – they’re not remembering what the people who went before them taught them about doing what is right. Instead, they’re being busybodies – which means they might be doing a lot of things, but certainly they’re not things that bring life to the world or have any greater meaning behind them. These people are not actually doing the work – leitourgia – the work of the people. Instead of contributing to and serving the community, they seem to be sucking from the community what they need, expecting then to be provided for.
And let’s be honest, it seems this is the way many of us address the work of worship, myself often included.
We live consumerist lives. And when people who lead worship – with bands and choirs and microphones – get up on “stage,” we can be lulled into the idea that we come purely to be served and fed. I remember I used to tease my mom for having a preaching mic that looked very much like Britney Spears’ headset. Watching that, we tend to appreciate the work that others do to prepare, but we can comfortably sit as a member of an audience.
Sometimes we understand what’s going on in the performance – sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we care about what we see and hear. Sometimes we don’t. But it may be time for us to re-evaluate who the audience of our worship is.
There’s no doubt that God serves us, as God performs, in worship. The Presbyterian minister, Marjorie Thompson says in her book, Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life, that in worship “God fills us with the joy of knowing we are loved, restores our courage through forgiveness, provides the Word for hungry hearts, and fills us with the bread and wine of new life in Christ, giving new purpose to our lives.”
In worship the Holy Spirit flows around and within us – doing its work – so that when we come to church idle and feeling a bit empty or dry or in need of greater faith, God responds out of love for us with God’s work in our lives.
But the Christian philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, also talks about it as a “theatre of worship” where the audience is God. And so the truth about worship is that it’s work that is done by us and by God – all together at once.
It requires something of God, and it requires some sacrifice of ours. So that even when we don’t feel like doing the work, even when we’re not sure if we even believe in the work we do, even when we’re just plain weary, like it says in 2 Thessalonians, we are asked through worship to work together with God – through our prayers and music and hearing scripture and contemplating the word proclaimed and greeting one another and celebrating the sacraments together – we need to do this – it matters.
It is not just a way of filling up our own selves, although it does that, but it has real power to stand against things that tear the world down – power against feelings of disappointment and fear, discouragement and hopelessness, violence and abuse, unbelief and bland living. When we stand together with God and do the work of worship, we are working to create a world that brings life and beauty to people instead of death.
How exciting is that?? How passionate can we be about that????
So that even if we’re a bit confused at the moment about our own faith and a bit down in our levels of hope, we can stand together with one another and gain strength from each other to preach the word with our lives. Are you ready to do this work?
FOCUS READING
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 (NRSV)
Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.
Tuesday 16 November 2010
The work of the people
DAILY BYTE
Now, this week, we’re talking about worship, but we’re also talking about work. We tend to separate the two into our ‘religious time’ and our ‘work time,’ but it turns out that the two concepts – work and worship – can’t be separated. You may have heard the word, liturgy, before. It’s a word that describes the prayers, responses, songs and rituals that we go through in worship services, and it comes from the Greek, leitourgia, which means the work – the public service – of the people.
Now, when we go to worship on a Sunday, we say, we are going to a worship “service.” We say this without thinking too much about what that means – it’s become a standard phrase that just rolls off the tongue – worship service.
But do we ever think about the meaning of going to worship for a “service?” When we do this, we are actually going to perform a service for each other, for God, and for the whole world.
We are not just going through motions – we’re not just showing up to get fed for the rest of the week – but we are doing the world a service in the work that we do through praying, singing, and going through the rituals and sacraments of communion and baptism. We are doing something that matters.
Not just to us in our own little me-focused worlds – but something that matters to the whole of creation. Our work in worship has the power to be a song of protest –a vision of light - in a world and life that is easily consumed by darkness.
A friend of mine told me that every time she goes into a pulpit to preach, she asks herself the question – am I speaking into what matters – is the work that I am about to do going to matter to people?
This is not only a question for preachers! We ask the question – why does what we do matter – because we want our lives to point to something bigger than ourselves.
The reality is that we only get to do a certain amount of work in our 80 to 100 years of life, if we’re really lucky. We only sing so many songs, we only pray so many prayers, and one day, our work here is done.
And in the midst of all of that work and prayer there are a lot of moments when we stop to wonder if even believe in what we’re doing, there are moments when we give up and feel like frauds, there are times when we just go through the motions, feeling dry and purposeless, and there are lots of times when we fail to make any effort at all – just being idle, drowning ourselves in front of the TV, wasting our time away on things that really don’t matter.
So how might God be asking us to reshape the way we see worship? How might we look at work differently, if we thought that it all really mattered to God?
FOCUS READING
Nehemiah 9:6 (NIV)
You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
Now, this week, we’re talking about worship, but we’re also talking about work. We tend to separate the two into our ‘religious time’ and our ‘work time,’ but it turns out that the two concepts – work and worship – can’t be separated. You may have heard the word, liturgy, before. It’s a word that describes the prayers, responses, songs and rituals that we go through in worship services, and it comes from the Greek, leitourgia, which means the work – the public service – of the people.
Now, when we go to worship on a Sunday, we say, we are going to a worship “service.” We say this without thinking too much about what that means – it’s become a standard phrase that just rolls off the tongue – worship service.
But do we ever think about the meaning of going to worship for a “service?” When we do this, we are actually going to perform a service for each other, for God, and for the whole world.
We are not just going through motions – we’re not just showing up to get fed for the rest of the week – but we are doing the world a service in the work that we do through praying, singing, and going through the rituals and sacraments of communion and baptism. We are doing something that matters.
Not just to us in our own little me-focused worlds – but something that matters to the whole of creation. Our work in worship has the power to be a song of protest –a vision of light - in a world and life that is easily consumed by darkness.
A friend of mine told me that every time she goes into a pulpit to preach, she asks herself the question – am I speaking into what matters – is the work that I am about to do going to matter to people?
This is not only a question for preachers! We ask the question – why does what we do matter – because we want our lives to point to something bigger than ourselves.
The reality is that we only get to do a certain amount of work in our 80 to 100 years of life, if we’re really lucky. We only sing so many songs, we only pray so many prayers, and one day, our work here is done.
And in the midst of all of that work and prayer there are a lot of moments when we stop to wonder if even believe in what we’re doing, there are moments when we give up and feel like frauds, there are times when we just go through the motions, feeling dry and purposeless, and there are lots of times when we fail to make any effort at all – just being idle, drowning ourselves in front of the TV, wasting our time away on things that really don’t matter.
So how might God be asking us to reshape the way we see worship? How might we look at work differently, if we thought that it all really mattered to God?
FOCUS READING
Nehemiah 9:6 (NIV)
You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
Monday 15 November 2010
The Work We Do
DAILY BYTE
Have you ever sat at your desk or been on the job trying to complete a task, and all of a sudden you stop in your tracks and wonder what on earth you’re doing? If you’re retired, unemployed, or studying, and you’re going about the daily grind – do you ever suddenly stop, about to put a shoe into the refrigerator or to write down something so that you don’t forget, and you pause, confused, and you think – why am I doing this? What is the point of the work I’m doing?
We sit twiddling our thumbs, or we rush around doing tons of things, but we’re actually just one fish in a big pond of the world’s messiness. What is the purpose of any of this?
I confess, that even as a minister, I sometimes slip into thoughts like these, wondering if I’m just going through the motions – wondering if I really even believe in what I’m doing – wondering if any of it actually matters...
In the midst of a time like that, a friend of mine played me a song by Christian singer/songwriter Sara Groves. It’s a song called, fittingly, “Why it matters.” Sara wrote the song when wondering some of those very questions – wondering how her work making music and being a wife and mother really mattered in a world that seemed so overrun by difficulty.
But she wrote the song after hearing a story about a man who lived in Bosnia during the war, and while the sounds of battle were ringing out all around him, he sat in the middle of it and played and played on his cello.
It’s a story that caused Sara Groves to reflect on her life and write about how her work making music mattered, too – how in the midst of the world’s darkness, her life and her work could be a song of protest – a vessel of light.
She writes that everything in life – from work making music to sharing love with a family – everything down to even a single cup of water matters. It is all part of a bigger picture, even when our life feels very small in comparison to our problems and the world’s problems.
This week, we’re going to explore the expansiveness of that life. We’re going to look at why our work is actually worship. It’s a part of something bigger than ourselves, and it matters. So stay tuned...
FOCUS READING
Genesis 2:15-16 (NRSV)
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden...
Have you ever sat at your desk or been on the job trying to complete a task, and all of a sudden you stop in your tracks and wonder what on earth you’re doing? If you’re retired, unemployed, or studying, and you’re going about the daily grind – do you ever suddenly stop, about to put a shoe into the refrigerator or to write down something so that you don’t forget, and you pause, confused, and you think – why am I doing this? What is the point of the work I’m doing?
We sit twiddling our thumbs, or we rush around doing tons of things, but we’re actually just one fish in a big pond of the world’s messiness. What is the purpose of any of this?
I confess, that even as a minister, I sometimes slip into thoughts like these, wondering if I’m just going through the motions – wondering if I really even believe in what I’m doing – wondering if any of it actually matters...
In the midst of a time like that, a friend of mine played me a song by Christian singer/songwriter Sara Groves. It’s a song called, fittingly, “Why it matters.” Sara wrote the song when wondering some of those very questions – wondering how her work making music and being a wife and mother really mattered in a world that seemed so overrun by difficulty.
But she wrote the song after hearing a story about a man who lived in Bosnia during the war, and while the sounds of battle were ringing out all around him, he sat in the middle of it and played and played on his cello.
It’s a story that caused Sara Groves to reflect on her life and write about how her work making music mattered, too – how in the midst of the world’s darkness, her life and her work could be a song of protest – a vessel of light.
She writes that everything in life – from work making music to sharing love with a family – everything down to even a single cup of water matters. It is all part of a bigger picture, even when our life feels very small in comparison to our problems and the world’s problems.
This week, we’re going to explore the expansiveness of that life. We’re going to look at why our work is actually worship. It’s a part of something bigger than ourselves, and it matters. So stay tuned...
FOCUS READING
Genesis 2:15-16 (NRSV)
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden...
Friday 12 November 2010
Inside Out Connection - Part 5
DAILY BYTE
The story is told of some soldiers in the First World War who carried one of their slain comrades to a nearby church in a rural part of France. There they asked the priest if he would bury their friend in the church graveyard. The priest asked if the dead man was a baptized member of the Catholic Church. When the soldiers replied that they didn’t know, the priest said that he was very sorry, but in that case he couldn’t allow the man to be buried in that graveyard. And so with heavy hearts the soldiers dug a grave outside the graveyard, buried their fallen comrade, and went on their way.
Some months later they happened to be in that region, and so decided to visit the grave of their friend. But as they looked for his grave outside of the graveyard fence they could find no trace of it. Confused, they approached the priest. He said, “After you left I was greatly troubled that night by my refusal to bury your friend in our graveyard. So the next morning I got up, and with my own hands moved the graveyard fence to include the grave of your friend.”
There are many fences that religious people knowingly or unknowingly erect that end up excluding others from hearing more about the Christian faith. Some examples would be:
Jesus cared enough. “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.“ (Ephesians 2:17-18). Thank God that he cared enough to come!
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord Jesus Christ, thank you that you cared enough to leave your throne in heaven and were willing to risk reaching out to us in love. You came to us to remove the fences that separated us from God. We praise you for this awesome demonstration of your love. Remind us of our calling as your disciples to share in your ongoing work of reaching out to those who are still far from God. Release us from our insecurities, pride and fear that would prevent us from fulfilling this holy responsibility.
FOCUS READING
Ephesians 2 :13-22 - (NIV) - One in Christ
13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. 14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
The story is told of some soldiers in the First World War who carried one of their slain comrades to a nearby church in a rural part of France. There they asked the priest if he would bury their friend in the church graveyard. The priest asked if the dead man was a baptized member of the Catholic Church. When the soldiers replied that they didn’t know, the priest said that he was very sorry, but in that case he couldn’t allow the man to be buried in that graveyard. And so with heavy hearts the soldiers dug a grave outside the graveyard, buried their fallen comrade, and went on their way.
Some months later they happened to be in that region, and so decided to visit the grave of their friend. But as they looked for his grave outside of the graveyard fence they could find no trace of it. Confused, they approached the priest. He said, “After you left I was greatly troubled that night by my refusal to bury your friend in our graveyard. So the next morning I got up, and with my own hands moved the graveyard fence to include the grave of your friend.”
There are many fences that religious people knowingly or unknowingly erect that end up excluding others from hearing more about the Christian faith. Some examples would be:
- Religious jargon, for e.g.: “Sanctification means being clothed daily in the righteousness of the second Adam, by whose blood the sin of the first Adam has been redeemed.” (To which most people would say, “Huh?”)
- Judgemental, holier-than-thou attitudes.
- Feeling embarrassed, awkward or apologetic about one’s faith.
- The simple unwillingness to reach out to those outside the church
Jesus cared enough. “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.“ (Ephesians 2:17-18). Thank God that he cared enough to come!
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord Jesus Christ, thank you that you cared enough to leave your throne in heaven and were willing to risk reaching out to us in love. You came to us to remove the fences that separated us from God. We praise you for this awesome demonstration of your love. Remind us of our calling as your disciples to share in your ongoing work of reaching out to those who are still far from God. Release us from our insecurities, pride and fear that would prevent us from fulfilling this holy responsibility.
FOCUS READING
Ephesians 2 :13-22 - (NIV) - One in Christ
13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. 14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Thursday 11 November 2010
Inside Out Connection - Part 4
DAILY BYTE
When it comes to sharing the good news about Jesus with others, many people feel intimidated and inadequate. They say things like:
“I won’t know what to say.”
“I’m not experienced enough in my faith.”
“What if I’m asked something about the bible that I don’t know how to answer?”
These concerns may be sincerely felt, but they miss the point. Being a witness to the good news does not require a theological degree or having a carefully crafted sermon at your fingertips. We are not expected to speak about what we do not know, or have all the answers when clearly we don’t, or even to pretend that we are convinced about something when doubts and uncertainties remain. That is not what is required.
In witnessing to the good news we are simply expected to share what we do know - that which has arisen out of our own experience - and invite others to consider it for themselves. That is what the Samaritan woman from Sychar did. “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did,” she said. But notice too her uncertainty and the presence of questions and doubts when she asked with honesty, “Could this be the Christ?”
There’s another wonderful example later in John’s gospel when the Jewish authorities questioned a man who had been born blind, whom Jesus had healed. The authorities were making theological allegations against Jesus, saying that he was a sinner, but this man simply responded by saying, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. But one thing I do know - I was blind but now I see.” (John 9:25)
Of course there’s a whole lot of things about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Church and our faith that we do not understand. And certainly, as the disciples of Jesus we need to grow in our knowledge and understanding of these things. But that’s a separate issue. All that’s required of us as witnesses to the good news is to share what we know and to invite others to come see for themselves.
Now that’s Good News!
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you Lord that I have a story to share. A story that continues to unfold as I carry on with this journey of faith as your disciple. Lord, I know that my story may not be the most dramatic, but it is my story and it speaks of your love and your goodness to me, and so I thank you for that. Thank you that you want my story to be shared as a witness to others. Give me the courage to begin looking for opportunities to do so. And above all keep me humble and truthful in the witness that I offer. Amen.
FOCUS READING
John 4:39-42 – NIV
Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers.
They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."
When it comes to sharing the good news about Jesus with others, many people feel intimidated and inadequate. They say things like:
“I won’t know what to say.”
“I’m not experienced enough in my faith.”
“What if I’m asked something about the bible that I don’t know how to answer?”
These concerns may be sincerely felt, but they miss the point. Being a witness to the good news does not require a theological degree or having a carefully crafted sermon at your fingertips. We are not expected to speak about what we do not know, or have all the answers when clearly we don’t, or even to pretend that we are convinced about something when doubts and uncertainties remain. That is not what is required.
In witnessing to the good news we are simply expected to share what we do know - that which has arisen out of our own experience - and invite others to consider it for themselves. That is what the Samaritan woman from Sychar did. “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did,” she said. But notice too her uncertainty and the presence of questions and doubts when she asked with honesty, “Could this be the Christ?”
There’s another wonderful example later in John’s gospel when the Jewish authorities questioned a man who had been born blind, whom Jesus had healed. The authorities were making theological allegations against Jesus, saying that he was a sinner, but this man simply responded by saying, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. But one thing I do know - I was blind but now I see.” (John 9:25)
Of course there’s a whole lot of things about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Church and our faith that we do not understand. And certainly, as the disciples of Jesus we need to grow in our knowledge and understanding of these things. But that’s a separate issue. All that’s required of us as witnesses to the good news is to share what we know and to invite others to come see for themselves.
Now that’s Good News!
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you Lord that I have a story to share. A story that continues to unfold as I carry on with this journey of faith as your disciple. Lord, I know that my story may not be the most dramatic, but it is my story and it speaks of your love and your goodness to me, and so I thank you for that. Thank you that you want my story to be shared as a witness to others. Give me the courage to begin looking for opportunities to do so. And above all keep me humble and truthful in the witness that I offer. Amen.
FOCUS READING
John 4:39-42 – NIV
Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers.
They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."
Wednesday 10 November 2010
Inside Out Connection - Part 3
DAILY BYTE
‘Evangelism’ has been described as a word with a good heart but a dirty reputation. Certainly, in many church and social circles, ‘evangelism’ has virtually become a swear word. And sadly, there’s good reason for this. For there have been far too many stories of things being done in the name of ‘evangelism’ that have in fact violated the good news of the gospel and the principles of God’s kingdom - things that don’t look like anything that Jesus would be caught doing. Just think of the caricature of the overly zealous college student, with a bible held high in his hand, running after someone who is desperately trying to get away, shouting at them that they need to be saved. Or the painful office worker who tries to turn every conversation to religion, and then insists that her experience of faith is the only one which is valid.
Stories like these, and there are dozens more, have quite frankly given evangelism a bad name, and have caused many Christians to distance themselves from any form of evangelism whatsoever. Talk about throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater.
The sad irony is that the word ‘evangelism’ literally means ‘sharing good news’. So what is so scary or offensive about that? And the answer surely is, ’Nothing much.’ But the problem arises when those sharing the good news forget what makes it good in the first place. And when that happens, what they say starts sounding more and more like bad news in the ears of their listeners.
So what makes the good news good? Well, the good news of God’s saving work in Christ and the new life that is available in him is good because:
When the good news is shared in ways that are consistent with these things, it is good news indeed. In fact, it’s nothing less than evangelism as God intended.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Forgive me Lord for the times when I have shied away from sharing the good news about you with others who really needed to hear it. Forgive my hesitancy and reluctance to be a bold witness, for fear of being labeled a religious nut-case. Remind me that there is nothing judgemental, coercive, manipulative or deceptive about authentic evangelism, and so it is an aspect of the gospel that I can embrace without compromising the values of dignity, tolerance and acceptance. Help me to grow in this area of my faith. Amen.
FOCUS READING
1 Peter 3:15-16
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
‘Evangelism’ has been described as a word with a good heart but a dirty reputation. Certainly, in many church and social circles, ‘evangelism’ has virtually become a swear word. And sadly, there’s good reason for this. For there have been far too many stories of things being done in the name of ‘evangelism’ that have in fact violated the good news of the gospel and the principles of God’s kingdom - things that don’t look like anything that Jesus would be caught doing. Just think of the caricature of the overly zealous college student, with a bible held high in his hand, running after someone who is desperately trying to get away, shouting at them that they need to be saved. Or the painful office worker who tries to turn every conversation to religion, and then insists that her experience of faith is the only one which is valid.
Stories like these, and there are dozens more, have quite frankly given evangelism a bad name, and have caused many Christians to distance themselves from any form of evangelism whatsoever. Talk about throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater.
The sad irony is that the word ‘evangelism’ literally means ‘sharing good news’. So what is so scary or offensive about that? And the answer surely is, ’Nothing much.’ But the problem arises when those sharing the good news forget what makes it good in the first place. And when that happens, what they say starts sounding more and more like bad news in the ears of their listeners.
So what makes the good news good? Well, the good news of God’s saving work in Christ and the new life that is available in him is good because:
- It speaks of God’s unconditional love for all people.
- It celebrates the intrinsic value and worth of all people in the eyes of God, who has created us all in his own image, which even our sin cannot undo.
- It reveals the nature of God’s mercy and grace - i.e. giving us the good things we don’t deserve (grace), and not giving us the bad things we do deserve (mercy).
- It affirms our freedom to choose, and refuses to coerce us in any way.
- It addresses our plight as people; it touches our places of deepest and most desperate need, and promises real transformation for our lives.
- It is based on hope & love, not shame & fear.
- It reminds us that God is much, much bigger than what our human minds can comprehend or contain.
When the good news is shared in ways that are consistent with these things, it is good news indeed. In fact, it’s nothing less than evangelism as God intended.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Forgive me Lord for the times when I have shied away from sharing the good news about you with others who really needed to hear it. Forgive my hesitancy and reluctance to be a bold witness, for fear of being labeled a religious nut-case. Remind me that there is nothing judgemental, coercive, manipulative or deceptive about authentic evangelism, and so it is an aspect of the gospel that I can embrace without compromising the values of dignity, tolerance and acceptance. Help me to grow in this area of my faith. Amen.
FOCUS READING
1 Peter 3:15-16
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
Tuesday 9 November 2010
Inside Out Connections - Part 2
DAILY BYTE
The kind of lives we live really matters. The way we treat others, the way we treat our own bodies, the language we use, being true to our word, honouring our commitments, being honest and truthful in all our dealings, acknowledging our mistakes and not being too proud to say sorry - all of this really matters. We’ve all heard the saying, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven” and of course that is true. But it’s a perversion of the gospel and a cheapening of God’s grace to use a saying like that to justify a mediocre, undisciplined life. No, God wants us to live holy lives. Not ‘holier-than-thou’ lives - but holy lives. Lives that reflect the Spirit of God living within us. Lives which are qualitatively different because God is at the centre.
This is the most eloquent testimony we could ever give. In fact Ralph Waldo Emerson once said:
“Who you are speaks so loudly
that I cannot hear what you are saying!”
In a very real sense, what’s inside of us cannot remain hidden. Who we really are becomes evident in the lives we live. So if we are serious about being a faithful witness to Jesus - which is the calling of every disciple - we have to pay careful attention to what is happening in our hearts:
The list could go on and on. We need to enter the “inner room” of prayer each day to acknowledge these things before God, in order for God’s work of healing and transformation to reach deep within to these our places of most profound need.
This is, of course, a lifelong process - but so long as we are on that inner journey of healing and transformation, it becomes possible for us to offer a truthful witness to our faith that will “command the respect of outsiders” as we live holy and beautiful lives.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you Lord for the many people who have been a witness to me of what a life of authentic discipleship can look like. Thank you for the challenge of their example and the inspiration of their faithfulness. Help me to embrace your calling for me to live a pure and holy life. Amen
FOCUS READING
1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 – (The Message) You're God-Taught
One final word, friends. We ask you - urge is more like it - that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus. God wants you to live a pure life. Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity. Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body, not abusing it, as is so common among those who know nothing of God. Don't run roughshod over the concerns of your brothers and sisters. Their concerns are God's concerns, and he will take care of them. We've warned you about this before. God hasn't invited us into a disorderly, unkempt life but into something holy and beautiful - as beautiful on the inside as the outside. If you disregard this advice, you're not offending your neighbors; you're rejecting God, who is making you a gift of his Holy Spirit. Regarding life together and getting along with each other, you don't need me to tell you what to do. You're God-taught in these matters. Just love one another! You're already good at it; your friends all over the province of Macedonia are the evidence. Keep it up; get better and better at it. Stay calm; mind your own business; do your own job. You've heard all this from us before, but a reminder never hurts. We want you living in a way that will command the respect of outsiders, not lying around sponging off your friends.
The kind of lives we live really matters. The way we treat others, the way we treat our own bodies, the language we use, being true to our word, honouring our commitments, being honest and truthful in all our dealings, acknowledging our mistakes and not being too proud to say sorry - all of this really matters. We’ve all heard the saying, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven” and of course that is true. But it’s a perversion of the gospel and a cheapening of God’s grace to use a saying like that to justify a mediocre, undisciplined life. No, God wants us to live holy lives. Not ‘holier-than-thou’ lives - but holy lives. Lives that reflect the Spirit of God living within us. Lives which are qualitatively different because God is at the centre.
This is the most eloquent testimony we could ever give. In fact Ralph Waldo Emerson once said:
“Who you are speaks so loudly
that I cannot hear what you are saying!”
In a very real sense, what’s inside of us cannot remain hidden. Who we really are becomes evident in the lives we live. So if we are serious about being a faithful witness to Jesus - which is the calling of every disciple - we have to pay careful attention to what is happening in our hearts:
- the recurring malicious thoughts and cynical attitudes that are ours,
- the anger & rage that simmers below the surface,
- the destructive patterns of behaviour that sabotage our relationships,
- the festering bitterness caused by old hurts that we have not forgiven
The list could go on and on. We need to enter the “inner room” of prayer each day to acknowledge these things before God, in order for God’s work of healing and transformation to reach deep within to these our places of most profound need.
This is, of course, a lifelong process - but so long as we are on that inner journey of healing and transformation, it becomes possible for us to offer a truthful witness to our faith that will “command the respect of outsiders” as we live holy and beautiful lives.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you Lord for the many people who have been a witness to me of what a life of authentic discipleship can look like. Thank you for the challenge of their example and the inspiration of their faithfulness. Help me to embrace your calling for me to live a pure and holy life. Amen
FOCUS READING
1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 – (The Message) You're God-Taught
One final word, friends. We ask you - urge is more like it - that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus. God wants you to live a pure life. Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity. Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body, not abusing it, as is so common among those who know nothing of God. Don't run roughshod over the concerns of your brothers and sisters. Their concerns are God's concerns, and he will take care of them. We've warned you about this before. God hasn't invited us into a disorderly, unkempt life but into something holy and beautiful - as beautiful on the inside as the outside. If you disregard this advice, you're not offending your neighbors; you're rejecting God, who is making you a gift of his Holy Spirit. Regarding life together and getting along with each other, you don't need me to tell you what to do. You're God-taught in these matters. Just love one another! You're already good at it; your friends all over the province of Macedonia are the evidence. Keep it up; get better and better at it. Stay calm; mind your own business; do your own job. You've heard all this from us before, but a reminder never hurts. We want you living in a way that will command the respect of outsiders, not lying around sponging off your friends.
Monday 8 November 2010
Inside Out Connection - Part 1
DAILY BYTE
How can I live outwardly what I believe inwardly? How are inner convictions translated into outer actions? How can I take who I am and what happens inside of church, and live it and share it outside of church?
Questions like these touch on a crucial part of the life of discipleship that will be explored in this coming week, namely that our faith was never intended to be just one dimension of our lives, distinct from all the other aspects of who we are. No, rightly understood, faith lies at the centre of who we are and should directly impact every dimension of the lives we live out in the world.
Many people describe how they struggle to make the connection between their faith and their everyday lives. They feel a sharp disjuncture between their worship on Sundays and their work, family & social lives from Monday to Saturday. It’s not that they are hypocrites, it’s just that they are honestly do not know how to translate the things that are spoken about on Sundays into the tough nitty-gritty situations of their weekday reality. Understanding the principles of God’s Kingdom is one thing, but putting that understanding into practice within a worldly context is altogether another. Even more difficult for many Christians is finding meaningful ways to be an effective witness to their faith that won’t turn people off completely.
Added to all this is the further concern of how to be “in the world but not of the world.” In other words, how can we engage meaningfully with people in secular and multi-faith contexts without compromising our distinctive convictions and beliefs as Christians? What’s the difference between being insulated or isolated as Christians?
All of this points to some of the challenges and complexities of cultivating a real-world faith. This is what we will be exploring this week, in our worship tomorrow, and in the daily devotions and small group material this week.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Loving and gracious God, it’s easy to sing songs to you in church and acknowledge you as Lord with our lips on Sundays, but it’s not so easy to worship you with our lives during the week. We want our faith in Jesus to work from inside our hearts out into the wider world of which we are a part. We pray that by your Holy Spirit, you would open us this week to hear how in practical ways we can carry you with us and acknowledge you every day. As we gather tomorrow as the community of faith to worship together, may we be an encouragement to each other as we acknowledge that we all need help and guidance to live out our faith in the world. Amen
FOCUS READING
James 2 (selected verses) - Faith in Action
Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup - where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.
How can I live outwardly what I believe inwardly? How are inner convictions translated into outer actions? How can I take who I am and what happens inside of church, and live it and share it outside of church?
Questions like these touch on a crucial part of the life of discipleship that will be explored in this coming week, namely that our faith was never intended to be just one dimension of our lives, distinct from all the other aspects of who we are. No, rightly understood, faith lies at the centre of who we are and should directly impact every dimension of the lives we live out in the world.
Many people describe how they struggle to make the connection between their faith and their everyday lives. They feel a sharp disjuncture between their worship on Sundays and their work, family & social lives from Monday to Saturday. It’s not that they are hypocrites, it’s just that they are honestly do not know how to translate the things that are spoken about on Sundays into the tough nitty-gritty situations of their weekday reality. Understanding the principles of God’s Kingdom is one thing, but putting that understanding into practice within a worldly context is altogether another. Even more difficult for many Christians is finding meaningful ways to be an effective witness to their faith that won’t turn people off completely.
Added to all this is the further concern of how to be “in the world but not of the world.” In other words, how can we engage meaningfully with people in secular and multi-faith contexts without compromising our distinctive convictions and beliefs as Christians? What’s the difference between being insulated or isolated as Christians?
All of this points to some of the challenges and complexities of cultivating a real-world faith. This is what we will be exploring this week, in our worship tomorrow, and in the daily devotions and small group material this week.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Loving and gracious God, it’s easy to sing songs to you in church and acknowledge you as Lord with our lips on Sundays, but it’s not so easy to worship you with our lives during the week. We want our faith in Jesus to work from inside our hearts out into the wider world of which we are a part. We pray that by your Holy Spirit, you would open us this week to hear how in practical ways we can carry you with us and acknowledge you every day. As we gather tomorrow as the community of faith to worship together, may we be an encouragement to each other as we acknowledge that we all need help and guidance to live out our faith in the world. Amen
FOCUS READING
James 2 (selected verses) - Faith in Action
Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup - where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.
Friday 5 November 2010
Looking through the window
DAILY BYTE
There’s a common misunderstanding that salvation means having your sins forgiven. Certainly, the forgiveness of sins is an indispensable part of salvation, but it’s only a part. The truth is, Jesus has far bigger concerns than just our sins. Yes, he came to save us from our sins, but he came for much more than that. He came that we might have LIFE, and have it to the full. To miss that is to miss the whole point of the salvation story.
Let me illustrate what I mean:
There was once a painter who lived in a humble little house. The house wasn’t much to look at, but it had one outstanding feature, and that was the view. It overlooked a spectacular section of coastline, framed with mountains on either side. It was breathtakingly beautiful, like a picture postcard. Realising how special the view was, and wanting to be able to enjoy it and paint it, the painter made some alterations to his house. He put in a massive window in his living room, so that he could sit there and gaze at the mountains and the sea, and stand next to his easel and paint to his heart’s content. It was glorious.
But then one day a bird messed on the living room window, and so the painter got a bucket, some rags and soap and cleaned it, so that nothing would obstruct his view.
A few days later there was a big storm, and the rain and wind off the sea left ugly streaks on his window. So he got the bucket and rags and soap, and cleaned it again.
A few days later he noticed some fingerprints on the inside of the window – the grandchildren had come to visit. So once again he got the bucket and rags and soap to clean it. And so it continued.
If you visit that house today you’ll find the painter sitting in his living room, with a bucket and rags and soap by his side, watching and waiting for the slightest mark to appear on his window. What he hasn’t realized is that he’s so intent on looking at the window, that he no longer looks through it. The view, of course, is still there – as glorious as ever. But the man no longer sees it – he’s too focused on keeping his window clean. And his canvas? His canvas remains empty.
Which is a parable.
What if the forgiveness of sins is like the cleaning of the window? Necessary – yes! Important – of course! But let’s understand why. It’s so that we can see the breathtaking beauty of God and the life that God lays before us, all of which he wants us to enjoy, and to experience, and to share.
The point of Jesus’ coming was not just so that we might be saved from our sins. That’s like looking at the window instead of through it. When we make sin our primary focus, we easily end up missing the view.
Jesus came so that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. Jesus came so that the lives we’re living right here and right now may be infused with his love and his power. Jesus came so that we might become channels of healing and transformation for our world, working for justice and peace, speaking the truth in love, pointing people to God.
That’s what salvation is really about, and that’s why it’s good news.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Saviour of the World. Come, with all your saving power and grace, and be my Saviour too. Come not just to save me from my sin, but come to save me for your Kingdom, for your purpose, for your glory. Save me for the new life that is found in you – a life of justice, compassion and love; a life that will be a witness to hope and a channel of grace within the world. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
John 10:10b
[Jesus said] “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
There’s a common misunderstanding that salvation means having your sins forgiven. Certainly, the forgiveness of sins is an indispensable part of salvation, but it’s only a part. The truth is, Jesus has far bigger concerns than just our sins. Yes, he came to save us from our sins, but he came for much more than that. He came that we might have LIFE, and have it to the full. To miss that is to miss the whole point of the salvation story.
Let me illustrate what I mean:
There was once a painter who lived in a humble little house. The house wasn’t much to look at, but it had one outstanding feature, and that was the view. It overlooked a spectacular section of coastline, framed with mountains on either side. It was breathtakingly beautiful, like a picture postcard. Realising how special the view was, and wanting to be able to enjoy it and paint it, the painter made some alterations to his house. He put in a massive window in his living room, so that he could sit there and gaze at the mountains and the sea, and stand next to his easel and paint to his heart’s content. It was glorious.
But then one day a bird messed on the living room window, and so the painter got a bucket, some rags and soap and cleaned it, so that nothing would obstruct his view.
A few days later there was a big storm, and the rain and wind off the sea left ugly streaks on his window. So he got the bucket and rags and soap, and cleaned it again.
A few days later he noticed some fingerprints on the inside of the window – the grandchildren had come to visit. So once again he got the bucket and rags and soap to clean it. And so it continued.
If you visit that house today you’ll find the painter sitting in his living room, with a bucket and rags and soap by his side, watching and waiting for the slightest mark to appear on his window. What he hasn’t realized is that he’s so intent on looking at the window, that he no longer looks through it. The view, of course, is still there – as glorious as ever. But the man no longer sees it – he’s too focused on keeping his window clean. And his canvas? His canvas remains empty.
Which is a parable.
What if the forgiveness of sins is like the cleaning of the window? Necessary – yes! Important – of course! But let’s understand why. It’s so that we can see the breathtaking beauty of God and the life that God lays before us, all of which he wants us to enjoy, and to experience, and to share.
The point of Jesus’ coming was not just so that we might be saved from our sins. That’s like looking at the window instead of through it. When we make sin our primary focus, we easily end up missing the view.
Jesus came so that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. Jesus came so that the lives we’re living right here and right now may be infused with his love and his power. Jesus came so that we might become channels of healing and transformation for our world, working for justice and peace, speaking the truth in love, pointing people to God.
That’s what salvation is really about, and that’s why it’s good news.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Saviour of the World. Come, with all your saving power and grace, and be my Saviour too. Come not just to save me from my sin, but come to save me for your Kingdom, for your purpose, for your glory. Save me for the new life that is found in you – a life of justice, compassion and love; a life that will be a witness to hope and a channel of grace within the world. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
John 10:10b
[Jesus said] “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Thursday 4 November 2010
Do you want to get well?
DAILY BYTE
I accompanied my 5 year old son into theatre this morning for a surgical procedure to repair a big hole on his eardrum. How miraculous, and what a privilege, that this kind of medical intervention is possible and available. I am deeply grateful.
Interesting places – hospitals. Here the full-spectrum of the human condition seems to get played out every day. From the rich promise & joyful delight of a new baby entering the world, to the tragedy of life cut cruelly short by injury or disease, or indeed the beauty of a final breath releasing a long earthly life into the wider life that awaits us all beyond this one.
Here the frailty of the human condition is so clearly evident, as is the remarkable capacity of the human spirit for great courage in the face of sometimes incomprehensible suffering.
Here the very heights of intellectual achievement get expressed through the brilliance and expertise of medical doctors, as well as the hubris, the arrogance, the pride that can arise when these same doctors forget the common humanity they share with their patients.
Here compassion and care are seen in those who have devoted their lives to serving the sick, as well as the sometimes cruel and callous indifference of a system that is driven by the profit motive.
Here people either turn to God in desperation, or hope, or trusting faith; or turn away from God in disillusionment, despair or debilitating fear.
Here life and death happens, and everything inbetween.
We don’t have to watch TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy or ER to understand what I’m talking about. Pretty much all of us have some kind of hospital experience of our own to reflect on.
I have a hunch that if there were hospitals in Jesus’ day, he would have been a regular visitor. He cared about the sick, and he also cared about how people treated the sick. He also understood the true nature of healing – healing that isn’t limited by an excessive focus on just physical cure, but recognizes that healing is an ongoing journey into wholeness of body, mind and spirit. It’s not for nothing that he is known as the Great Physician.
The story in John 5 of the healing that happened at the pool of Bethesda is perhaps the closest we get in the gospels to a ‘hospital’ story. We do not know exactly how it worked, but there seemed to be something in the water of this pool that had healing power. Certainly when the water was stirred up, and for whoever was lucky enough to be the first one in. And so a great number of disabled people used to lie there – the blind, the lame, the paralysed – in the hope that someday the miracle would happen for them. Some of them lay there for a very long time.
The man in the gospel passage had been there for 38 years. The tragedy of his story was not just that he was sick, but that he had no one to help him. But then came the wonderful day when he encountered Jesus. We read in the story that when Jesus saw the man and learned how long he had been lying there he asked him this question, “Do you want to get well?”
On the face of it the question seems ridiculous, maybe even rude or downright offensive. Of course the man wanted to get well. Who wouldn’t? And after all he was lying there wasn’t he?
But if we ponder the question a little, we’ll see the sharp insight of Jesus that penetrates to the very heart of this man’s situation, and indeed ours as we think about our own circumstances of sickness, brokenness, paralysis and pain.
Are we willing to allow our very identity to be redefined, not by the painful, broken circumstances that have befallen us, often so unjustly, but by something else? By Someone else? Someone who dares to say with us, with great authority and compassion, “Stand up...and walk!”
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you, Great Physician, that as you look at me you see beyond my brokenness & sickness, to the potential for wholeness that is in me. Help me to see myself in the same way, and so trust your healing words that speak newness into my life. Amen.
SCRIPTURE
John 5:6
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
I accompanied my 5 year old son into theatre this morning for a surgical procedure to repair a big hole on his eardrum. How miraculous, and what a privilege, that this kind of medical intervention is possible and available. I am deeply grateful.
Interesting places – hospitals. Here the full-spectrum of the human condition seems to get played out every day. From the rich promise & joyful delight of a new baby entering the world, to the tragedy of life cut cruelly short by injury or disease, or indeed the beauty of a final breath releasing a long earthly life into the wider life that awaits us all beyond this one.
Here the frailty of the human condition is so clearly evident, as is the remarkable capacity of the human spirit for great courage in the face of sometimes incomprehensible suffering.
Here the very heights of intellectual achievement get expressed through the brilliance and expertise of medical doctors, as well as the hubris, the arrogance, the pride that can arise when these same doctors forget the common humanity they share with their patients.
Here compassion and care are seen in those who have devoted their lives to serving the sick, as well as the sometimes cruel and callous indifference of a system that is driven by the profit motive.
Here people either turn to God in desperation, or hope, or trusting faith; or turn away from God in disillusionment, despair or debilitating fear.
Here life and death happens, and everything inbetween.
We don’t have to watch TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy or ER to understand what I’m talking about. Pretty much all of us have some kind of hospital experience of our own to reflect on.
I have a hunch that if there were hospitals in Jesus’ day, he would have been a regular visitor. He cared about the sick, and he also cared about how people treated the sick. He also understood the true nature of healing – healing that isn’t limited by an excessive focus on just physical cure, but recognizes that healing is an ongoing journey into wholeness of body, mind and spirit. It’s not for nothing that he is known as the Great Physician.
The story in John 5 of the healing that happened at the pool of Bethesda is perhaps the closest we get in the gospels to a ‘hospital’ story. We do not know exactly how it worked, but there seemed to be something in the water of this pool that had healing power. Certainly when the water was stirred up, and for whoever was lucky enough to be the first one in. And so a great number of disabled people used to lie there – the blind, the lame, the paralysed – in the hope that someday the miracle would happen for them. Some of them lay there for a very long time.
The man in the gospel passage had been there for 38 years. The tragedy of his story was not just that he was sick, but that he had no one to help him. But then came the wonderful day when he encountered Jesus. We read in the story that when Jesus saw the man and learned how long he had been lying there he asked him this question, “Do you want to get well?”
On the face of it the question seems ridiculous, maybe even rude or downright offensive. Of course the man wanted to get well. Who wouldn’t? And after all he was lying there wasn’t he?
But if we ponder the question a little, we’ll see the sharp insight of Jesus that penetrates to the very heart of this man’s situation, and indeed ours as we think about our own circumstances of sickness, brokenness, paralysis and pain.
Are we willing to allow our very identity to be redefined, not by the painful, broken circumstances that have befallen us, often so unjustly, but by something else? By Someone else? Someone who dares to say with us, with great authority and compassion, “Stand up...and walk!”
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you, Great Physician, that as you look at me you see beyond my brokenness & sickness, to the potential for wholeness that is in me. Help me to see myself in the same way, and so trust your healing words that speak newness into my life. Amen.
SCRIPTURE
John 5:6
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
Wednesday 3 November 2010
The influence we have
DAILY BYTE
I have recently had reason to update my Twitter profile (@rogtherev). Included in my ‘bio’ are now these three words: international running coach. Don’t laugh, it’s true! A friend living in New Zealand has made the courageous commitment to run her first half-marathon at the end of November, and has enlisted my services as a running coach to guide her through the preparation process. A training schedule has been devised, essential do’s and don’ts have been discussed, weekly progress is being plotted on a spreadsheet, niggling aches and pains are being closely monitored. I must say, so far it’s been a whole lot of fun!
But here’s a curious thing. My new role as an international running coach has spurred me on to a greater level of commitment in my own running. Before, whether I trained hard or not was entirely up to me and really had nothing to do with anyone else. But now, there’s been a subtle change to that. I recognise that my credibility as a running coach is connected to my own commitment as a runner. And as a consequence I’ve found a fresh impetus to put into practice the good running principles I’ve been promoting – to walk (or run) the talk, as it were!
The parallel between this and the Christian life is hopefully clear. When we see the lives we’re living as having nothing to do with anyone else, then we can easily justify ‘doing our own thing’, assuming that it has no bearing on others. But when we recognise that we have an influence on those around us, whether we like it or not, then the way in which we speak, and act, and the attitudes we hold take on great significance that reaches beyond the narrowness of our own individual selves. The influence that is ours surely calls us to a deeper commitment to live lives of integrity, creativity and substance.
Many people shy away from this responsibility. They protest that they are not “coach material” when it comes to the Christian life. They assume that because they have no formal positions of oversight as a minister or pastor or preacher or leader, that their faith journey is simply their own concern. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Listen to how Paul puts it in his letter to the Corinthians. He writes:
“Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it - not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives.”
If your life today is a letter, what will others read? If your life today is a sermon, what will others hear? Will it be good news?
How might that thought spur you on today to a renewed commitment to live more fully, with greater kindness, patience, generosity and honesty? What kind of influence will you be today?
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord it’s true. The kind of life I live really matters – not just to me, but to those around me. Help me to embrace this responsibility, not as a burden but as a joy. And may the great challenge of living well be a thrilling adventure that takes me, and those around me, along exciting new contours of your grace. Amen
SCRIPTURE READING
2 Corinthians 3:3 (The Message)
Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it - not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives.
I have recently had reason to update my Twitter profile (@rogtherev). Included in my ‘bio’ are now these three words: international running coach. Don’t laugh, it’s true! A friend living in New Zealand has made the courageous commitment to run her first half-marathon at the end of November, and has enlisted my services as a running coach to guide her through the preparation process. A training schedule has been devised, essential do’s and don’ts have been discussed, weekly progress is being plotted on a spreadsheet, niggling aches and pains are being closely monitored. I must say, so far it’s been a whole lot of fun!
But here’s a curious thing. My new role as an international running coach has spurred me on to a greater level of commitment in my own running. Before, whether I trained hard or not was entirely up to me and really had nothing to do with anyone else. But now, there’s been a subtle change to that. I recognise that my credibility as a running coach is connected to my own commitment as a runner. And as a consequence I’ve found a fresh impetus to put into practice the good running principles I’ve been promoting – to walk (or run) the talk, as it were!
The parallel between this and the Christian life is hopefully clear. When we see the lives we’re living as having nothing to do with anyone else, then we can easily justify ‘doing our own thing’, assuming that it has no bearing on others. But when we recognise that we have an influence on those around us, whether we like it or not, then the way in which we speak, and act, and the attitudes we hold take on great significance that reaches beyond the narrowness of our own individual selves. The influence that is ours surely calls us to a deeper commitment to live lives of integrity, creativity and substance.
Many people shy away from this responsibility. They protest that they are not “coach material” when it comes to the Christian life. They assume that because they have no formal positions of oversight as a minister or pastor or preacher or leader, that their faith journey is simply their own concern. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Listen to how Paul puts it in his letter to the Corinthians. He writes:
“Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it - not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives.”
If your life today is a letter, what will others read? If your life today is a sermon, what will others hear? Will it be good news?
How might that thought spur you on today to a renewed commitment to live more fully, with greater kindness, patience, generosity and honesty? What kind of influence will you be today?
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord it’s true. The kind of life I live really matters – not just to me, but to those around me. Help me to embrace this responsibility, not as a burden but as a joy. And may the great challenge of living well be a thrilling adventure that takes me, and those around me, along exciting new contours of your grace. Amen
SCRIPTURE READING
2 Corinthians 3:3 (The Message)
Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it - not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives.
Tuesday 2 November 2010
Moving
DAILY BYTE
I write these words in the midst of many boxes piled all around me, as today I’m moving house. I must confess I’m not a huge fan of packing. But I recognize it as a necessary part of the moving process – gathering all of one’s ‘stuff’ together to take from one place to another. It’s a sobering process, that reveals in a very stark way how easily we accumulate all sorts of things. Looking around at all these boxes, I find myself asking how much of all of this is really necessary for the living of my life. And so, while I’m not a huge fan of packing, I am grateful for the chance it has given me to ‘lighten my load’. Certainly, one of the great gifts of moving is the opportunity it presents to let go of the unnecessary clutter that so quickly fills our lives.
In the midst of all of this, this morning I heard from a friend who lives in London, who described the beautiful autumn colours that are transforming a usually drab city into a magical wonderland. On this brutally hot day on this southern tip of Africa, the thought of falling autumn leaves seems very distant indeed. But they are a dramatic reminder of the ‘letting go’ that is an indispensable part of every transition, and the beauty that such letting go in fact adds to the world.
You may not be in the process of moving house right now, but there are many other transitions that regularly come our way in the normal course of life, as surely as one season follows the next. So what transitions may you be navigating right now? A new job? A new relationship? A new season without the presence of a loved one? A new insight into an old problem? A new opportunity to offer your one miraculous life to some magnificent purpose?
As you prepare to move into that which awaits, exciting or scary as that may be, what are you taking with you? What have you known that you would carefully pack up to ensure that it is a part of this new season in your life? What lessons, values, attitudes and memories from the past do you need to safeguard and nurture, because of the vibrant life they still promise to bring?
And then what are you needing to let go of; either because it’s worthless clutter that is just suffocating you, or because it’s served its purpose and its time has now past? Calcified convictions, prejudice, old habits, narrow certitudes, bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness? Think what it would mean for you to take the courageous, liberating decision not to pack those things. To know the wonder of an authentically fresh beginning.
The good news is that God, who is at every ending and every beginning, affirms the blessings and beauty of our past while recognizing the bruised and broken dimensions of it too, and then with quite spectacular grace promises to make all things new!
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you Lord God that at every ending and at every beginning you are there. Thank you that in the transition times of our lives, yours is a sure and faithful presence, calling us forward, encouraging us not to be afraid to let go of that which is past and to embrace that which is new. Give us the strength and courage to trust you, and to relinquish ourselves completely into your care. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Isaiah 43:19-21
“I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert...
to give drink to my people, whom I created for myself,
that they might declare my praise.”
I write these words in the midst of many boxes piled all around me, as today I’m moving house. I must confess I’m not a huge fan of packing. But I recognize it as a necessary part of the moving process – gathering all of one’s ‘stuff’ together to take from one place to another. It’s a sobering process, that reveals in a very stark way how easily we accumulate all sorts of things. Looking around at all these boxes, I find myself asking how much of all of this is really necessary for the living of my life. And so, while I’m not a huge fan of packing, I am grateful for the chance it has given me to ‘lighten my load’. Certainly, one of the great gifts of moving is the opportunity it presents to let go of the unnecessary clutter that so quickly fills our lives.
In the midst of all of this, this morning I heard from a friend who lives in London, who described the beautiful autumn colours that are transforming a usually drab city into a magical wonderland. On this brutally hot day on this southern tip of Africa, the thought of falling autumn leaves seems very distant indeed. But they are a dramatic reminder of the ‘letting go’ that is an indispensable part of every transition, and the beauty that such letting go in fact adds to the world.
You may not be in the process of moving house right now, but there are many other transitions that regularly come our way in the normal course of life, as surely as one season follows the next. So what transitions may you be navigating right now? A new job? A new relationship? A new season without the presence of a loved one? A new insight into an old problem? A new opportunity to offer your one miraculous life to some magnificent purpose?
As you prepare to move into that which awaits, exciting or scary as that may be, what are you taking with you? What have you known that you would carefully pack up to ensure that it is a part of this new season in your life? What lessons, values, attitudes and memories from the past do you need to safeguard and nurture, because of the vibrant life they still promise to bring?
And then what are you needing to let go of; either because it’s worthless clutter that is just suffocating you, or because it’s served its purpose and its time has now past? Calcified convictions, prejudice, old habits, narrow certitudes, bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness? Think what it would mean for you to take the courageous, liberating decision not to pack those things. To know the wonder of an authentically fresh beginning.
The good news is that God, who is at every ending and every beginning, affirms the blessings and beauty of our past while recognizing the bruised and broken dimensions of it too, and then with quite spectacular grace promises to make all things new!
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you Lord God that at every ending and at every beginning you are there. Thank you that in the transition times of our lives, yours is a sure and faithful presence, calling us forward, encouraging us not to be afraid to let go of that which is past and to embrace that which is new. Give us the strength and courage to trust you, and to relinquish ourselves completely into your care. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Isaiah 43:19-21
“I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert...
to give drink to my people, whom I created for myself,
that they might declare my praise.”
Monday 1 November 2010
All Saints’ Day
DAILY BYTE
Today, being the 1st of November is observed as All Saints' Day in many parts of the Christian Church. While the particular understandings & practices surrounding All Saints’ Day differ between the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant traditions, the basic idea is that this is a day to remember all those who have died who have lived lives of extraordinary beauty, devotion & grace.
Who might some of those people be for you, whose memory is a source of deep joy & inspiration? As I think about that for myself I realise, with great gratitude, that the list that comes to mind is long indeed. Today let me share just one of those stories.
My grandmother, ‘Ouma’, was a simple, humble woman with an enormous heart of love and compassion that was open, quite literally, to all. She was someone who knew about the agonies of life, bearing burdens of suffering beyond what anyone could be expected to bear. But she always did so with a trusting graciousness that bore witness to the deep faith that was hers.
When she was in Std 6 (Grade 8) she came first in her class. But then one evening she overheard her parents talking, agonising over what to do as they simply could not afford to pay for both her and her older brother to attend high school. (These were the years of the Great Depression.) That night she cried right through the night as she truly loved school. The next morning, with true courage and selfless determination, she announced to her mother that she was tired of school and wanted to go out and get a job, which she did.
When she was just 24, with a 2 year old daughter (my mom), her husband was killed in the Second World War. He was coming home for a visit to see his little girl for only the third time when his ship, the SS Nova Scotia, was sunk by a German U-boat just a few hours before docking in Durban.
She married again, but was widowed a second time when she was 56, when her second husband, ‘Oupa’, was tragically killed in a mine accident. A few years later she got behind the wheel of a car for the first time, and just before her 60th birthday she finally got her driver's license - on the 6th attempt! (One of the times she failed was for speeding!)
She contracted breast cancer, had a total mastectomy, and continued living a full and productive life. Amongst many things, she was a dearly loved matron in a school for children with special needs, embracing every one of them as her own. Secondary cancer riddled her body, but right up to the very last day of her life her concern was always for others, such was the quality of the irrepressible life within her.
Today her memory is a special gift to me. It’s a reminder of the great mystery that we are not isolated individuals making our lonely way through the world. But thanks to the goodness and greatness of God, others have been given to us who have been living embodiments of what it truly means to be human, whose stories have wonderfully become interwoven with ours.
My prayer for you on this All Saints’ Day is that your own memories of the saints that you have know would come readily to mind as a source of inspiration and a gift of great joy.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you gracious God for the gift of those whom we have known, who through the quality of their living and the extravagance of their loving have helped to bring the image of Jesus into clear and sharp focus for us. Help us today to remember them with deep gratitude, and to allow the compelling witness of their lives to challenge us as we seek to live in such a way that we too, like them, may add to the beauty of this world. Amen
Today, being the 1st of November is observed as All Saints' Day in many parts of the Christian Church. While the particular understandings & practices surrounding All Saints’ Day differ between the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant traditions, the basic idea is that this is a day to remember all those who have died who have lived lives of extraordinary beauty, devotion & grace.
Who might some of those people be for you, whose memory is a source of deep joy & inspiration? As I think about that for myself I realise, with great gratitude, that the list that comes to mind is long indeed. Today let me share just one of those stories.
My grandmother, ‘Ouma’, was a simple, humble woman with an enormous heart of love and compassion that was open, quite literally, to all. She was someone who knew about the agonies of life, bearing burdens of suffering beyond what anyone could be expected to bear. But she always did so with a trusting graciousness that bore witness to the deep faith that was hers.
When she was in Std 6 (Grade 8) she came first in her class. But then one evening she overheard her parents talking, agonising over what to do as they simply could not afford to pay for both her and her older brother to attend high school. (These were the years of the Great Depression.) That night she cried right through the night as she truly loved school. The next morning, with true courage and selfless determination, she announced to her mother that she was tired of school and wanted to go out and get a job, which she did.
When she was just 24, with a 2 year old daughter (my mom), her husband was killed in the Second World War. He was coming home for a visit to see his little girl for only the third time when his ship, the SS Nova Scotia, was sunk by a German U-boat just a few hours before docking in Durban.
She married again, but was widowed a second time when she was 56, when her second husband, ‘Oupa’, was tragically killed in a mine accident. A few years later she got behind the wheel of a car for the first time, and just before her 60th birthday she finally got her driver's license - on the 6th attempt! (One of the times she failed was for speeding!)
She contracted breast cancer, had a total mastectomy, and continued living a full and productive life. Amongst many things, she was a dearly loved matron in a school for children with special needs, embracing every one of them as her own. Secondary cancer riddled her body, but right up to the very last day of her life her concern was always for others, such was the quality of the irrepressible life within her.
Today her memory is a special gift to me. It’s a reminder of the great mystery that we are not isolated individuals making our lonely way through the world. But thanks to the goodness and greatness of God, others have been given to us who have been living embodiments of what it truly means to be human, whose stories have wonderfully become interwoven with ours.
My prayer for you on this All Saints’ Day is that your own memories of the saints that you have know would come readily to mind as a source of inspiration and a gift of great joy.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you gracious God for the gift of those whom we have known, who through the quality of their living and the extravagance of their loving have helped to bring the image of Jesus into clear and sharp focus for us. Help us today to remember them with deep gratitude, and to allow the compelling witness of their lives to challenge us as we seek to live in such a way that we too, like them, may add to the beauty of this world. Amen
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